A Unique Cycle

Piano music byNikolai Peyko -
recommended byGERALD FENECH

'Performances are highly virtuosic and wholly committed, and both pianists know exactly how to convey the overriding shape with discernment and piquancy.'

When Nikolai Peyko was born in 1916 the Russian Revolution was just over a year away; by the time of his death in 1995 its ideals had been swept aside, but not after more than seven decades of barbarities and injustices that had cost the lives of millions. One of the major figures in twentieth century Russian music, Peyko had to endure the regime's wrath for the best part of his career, but this did not deter him from winning the esteem of many of his fellow composers and students, and despite the oppressive climate he worked in, his qualities and seriousness as an intellectual artist shone through at all times. At the height of his activity as composer, teacher and performer, Peyko was communicative and sympathetic, and yet he spent a large part of his life in voluntary inner retreat.

The composer was also a cruel victim of fate; indeed, practically throughout his life he had to endure many tragicevents that beset his family (mainly due to Soviet repression) and his last years were plagued by illness...